An East Palo Alto woman who struck and killed a 6-year-old-girl walking to school will not be charged with a crime, according to the San Mateo County District Attorney’s Office.

Fern White-Parker, a music teacher at Costano Elementary School, was driving her normal route to school on Sept. 28, 2011, when her BMW struck Sioreli Torrez Zamora, according to police. The little girl, who was days away from her seventh birthday, was just steps ahead of her mother at the time of the accident on Bay Road and Gloria Way.

San Mateo County District Attorney Stephen Wagstaffe said in a news release that police did a thorough follow-up investigation and re-interviewed dozens of witnesses to ensure “a complete picture of events could be established.”

“While this is obviously a tragic case for all involved, we have concluded that the evidence does not establish that Ms. White-Parker has committed the crime of vehicular manslaughter or any other violation of California statutes,” Wagstaffe said in the release.

James Lovelace, assistant superintendent of Ravenswood City School District, said White-Parker has been on paid administrative leave since the accident. Lovelace had not heard of the district attorney’s decision not to file charges before being contacted by this newspaper.

Earlier on the morning of Sept. 28, a separate, isolated crash happened a block-and-a-half away on University Avenue, causing cars to take alternate routes.

One parent told this newspaper there was more traffic than usual near the campus shared by Green Oaks and Cesar Chavez academies on Bay Road.

White-Parker has been a teacher in the Ravenswood school district for 15 years, the last three at Costano.

“She’s very committed to East Palo Alto and its children,” said Lovelace.

Mark Gomez has worked for the Mercury News since 1992, including the past ten years as a reporter on the breaking news/public safety team. He is a South Bay native and graduate of San Jose State University.

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